Benjamin Linus has been the de facto villain of "Lost" since he was introduced as "Henry Gale" in Season 2, but I have long believed that he will prove to be one of the show's true heroes, if not the hero.
The line that gives this entry its title is a fan favorite, ostensibly because it is taken ironically: How can The Others be the good guys? They kidnap children, threaten the lives of our Losties, keep people in cages, drive French women crazy and shake bunnies in cages.
But though the person that's been leading them since Charles Widmore's banishment is certainly devious and deadly, The Others are, more or less, good people. And Ben has only acted in their best interests, protecting the island and those he believes it belongs to. The Losties are our heroes because the show is primarily told from their point of view. Jack is the main protagonist, but felt more like a hindrance through most of seasons 3, 4 and 5, which only helped me empathize with Ben and his people.
This past season, Ben and his cosmic counterpart, John Locke, reached their respective low points. John was pulled from the brink of suicide from the last person he expected to call his friend -- who then turned around and killed him. Ben bared his inner struggle to his god, if you will, and was duped into killing that god by a man(?) posing as Locke. Each man has been a patsy for a force larger than they could have imagined, and only time will tell if Ben also has to suffer Locke's ultimate tragedy of finding even further indignity in death.
Season 6 is going to involve some form of "rebooting," most likely in the form of an alternate reality existing parallel to the 2007 existence in which Ben murders Jacob. I believe Ben will be key to uniting these two realities and determining the ultimate fate of the island, and he will redeem his rather sad existence.
It's quite a role, Benjamin Linus, and tonight Michael Emerson acknowledged as much when he won the Emmy for best supporting actor:
I was heavily invested in "Lost" after finishing the first season, but that investment didn't turn into obsession until Emerson showed up near the end of Season 2, a wildly uneven season that had more than its share of depressing and sometimes just plain bad episodes. (Remember "Fire + Water," in which Charlie has religious visions and gets punched out by Locke? That must be the worst episode of the series.) Emerson brought a totally different energy to "Lost" and gave it something it was lacking in the first season: a tangible antagonist. I no longer see him as "the enemy," but that cunning energy is still there, as is the sardonic wit. (Only Josh Holloway can match Emerson for bringing the funny.)
I wonder if Matthew Fox and Evangeline Lilly feel as if "their show" has been completely stolen by Emerson and Terry O'Quinn. Tough shit. Jack and Kate are still important, central characters, but they will never be as interesting as Ben and Locke, and I think Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse know this. How will they make us truly care for Jack and Kate again in the final season? Where will the journey end for Ben and Locke?
We won't know until May, but until then we can enjoy these great Season 5 moments from "Lost's" newest Emmy winner, Michael Emerson:
(The first clip, incidentally, also contains O'Quinn's best scene from his five years on the show.)
Friday, September 18, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Watch this while you can
This Goofy short ran with the mostly terrible "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" in 2007, and has been unavailable on home video to the best of my knowledge. Here it is in YouTube form, until Disney gets wise and pulls it. It's in the tradition of the best Goofy shorts of the past.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
My favorite albums of the decade
We're nearing the end of the '00s, and the inevitable deluge of decade-end best-lists has already begun. So I might as well join the fun now.
In thinking about my favorite albums of the last ten years, I realized there aren't many which I love in their entirety. This may be a natural part of growing up; the music we love in our teenage years will never be as important as what we discover afterwards. Nothing on this list rivals the Black Album, or "Jar of Flies," or "Ten" for pure pervasiveness; I feel like I know all of the songs on those albums, because they were integral to my adolescence.
So does that mean the music I've embraced since is more grown-up, more intricate? Not at all. I am admittedly a very superficial music listener nowadays; I value production and arrangement over lyrics and emotion. But at least I am aware of this.
So here are the ten albums that I think best represent my decade. One is a film score, one is a comedy album, and one is an obscurity from Finland. But I think they all kick a whole lot of ass.
• • •
Sean's Top 10 Albums of the '00s
(in alphabetical order)
• • •
"Dark Passion Play," Nightwish (2007)
This Finnish metal band fired operatic vocalist Tarja Turunen and hired the London Philharmonic Orchestra, which painted keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen's melodic songs on an epic canvas. The lyrics mostly deal with the emotional fallout from the firing, and the sounds are appropriately dark and romantic. Emppu Vuorinen's guitar holds its own against Holopainen's bigger-than-life orchestrations, and the result is a score for a film in your mind. Download these: "7 Days to the Wolves," "Amaranth," "The Islander"
• • •
"Death Magnetic," Metallica (2008)
The riffs sound like a rebirth, even if the muddy production sometimes sounds like afterbirth. Metallica fuses every stage of their career (save the "S&M" experiment) into a bruising collection of thrashers. A band on the edge of irrelevance crawled from the wreckage one last time. Download these: "All Nightmare Long," "Cyanide," "The End of the Line"
• • •
"Discovery," Daft Punk (2001)
The very definition of ear candy. The band that annoyed the hell out of me with "Around the World" gave us this unholy concoction of beats, samples, vocoders and kick-ass guitars. If you want to get totally lost in an album with nothing but a dark room and a pair of headphones, this is the way to go -- it almost becomes euphoric. Download these: "Aerodynamic," "Harder Better Faster Stronger," "Something About Us"
• • •
"Fallen," Evanescence (2003)
When I first heard this album, it was like someone was making music just for me. It's dark rock with female vocals, an orchestra, and cinematic sweep. This album led me to the European bands that preceded it, but few of those albums are as consistently entertaining as this one. (Credit that American pop sensibility. Oh, and Ben Moody's chops.) Download these: "Haunted," "Hello," "Imaginary"
• • •
"Gladiator," Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard (2000)
This is the best score of the decade because it is the only one that acts as a main character in the film. Lisa Gerrard's wordless intonations beckon Maximus (Russell Crowe) to his wife's side in the afterlife, and Hans Zimmer accompanies them with a score that encapsulates everything that is best about his often-derided body of work. It lost the Oscar to Tan Dun's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," but it will be remembered long after wire-fu goes back to being a curiosity. Download these: "Now We Are Free," "The Battle," "The Might of Rome"
• • •
"Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)," Marilyn Manson (2000)
The provocateur follows the drug-soaked "Mechanical Animals" with this indictment of guns, God and government that retains much of the previous album's melodic sensibilities while re-embracing the darkness of "Antichrist Superstar." Nothing Manson has done since can quite compete with the unholy trinity he completed here. Download these: "Valentine's Day," "The Fight Song," "Coma Black"
• • •
"A Matter of Life and Death," Iron Maiden (2006)
Maiden loved their war epic so much they played it in its entirety on their '06 tour. I think it's their most consistent album since 1985's "Powerslave," and proves once again that these 50-somethings have more skill and power than just about every band half their age. They are unquestionably the best live band I've ever seen, and I last saw them in June 2008. Download these: "Brighter Than a Thousand Suns," "The Longest Day," "These Colours Don't Run"
• • •
"Mitch All Together," Mitch Hedberg (2003)
This is the only comedy album I can listen to over and over and over again, like it's a great pop record. Mitch's delivery here has an almost musical cadence, and his brand of humor -- definitely influenced by Steven Wright and, uh, Mary Jane -- surprises me, even after 30-odd listens. Sometimes I don't know if I'm laughing at the jokes, or at myself for laughing at the jokes. But I know I love it. Download these: The whole goddamn thing
• • •
"Return of Saturn," No Doubt (2000)
Paste magazine recently asked the Twitterverse to name its favorite album of the decade, and I tweeted back with this. A few days on, I'm not sure if that's actually true, but it feels right, mostly because No Doubt encapsulates just about everything I love about music. "Return of Saturn" had its share of hits, but my favorite songs are the ones radio didn't play to death. No, it doesn't quite boast the murderer's row that "Tragic Kingdom" does, but it's still endlessly tasty. Download these: "New," "Artificial Sweetener," "Comfortable Lie"
• • •
"So Jealous," Tegan and Sara (2004)
The sisters Quin give us a heartbreaking album that goes down so smoothly -- it must be the sweetest bitter pill ever. I rarely listen to albums start to finish, but I almost always hear all of this one when I put it in. Download these: "I Know, I Know, I Know," "Walking With a Ghost," "You Wouldn't Like Me"
• • •
Those are my picks. What are yours?
In thinking about my favorite albums of the last ten years, I realized there aren't many which I love in their entirety. This may be a natural part of growing up; the music we love in our teenage years will never be as important as what we discover afterwards. Nothing on this list rivals the Black Album, or "Jar of Flies," or "Ten" for pure pervasiveness; I feel like I know all of the songs on those albums, because they were integral to my adolescence.
So does that mean the music I've embraced since is more grown-up, more intricate? Not at all. I am admittedly a very superficial music listener nowadays; I value production and arrangement over lyrics and emotion. But at least I am aware of this.
So here are the ten albums that I think best represent my decade. One is a film score, one is a comedy album, and one is an obscurity from Finland. But I think they all kick a whole lot of ass.
• • •
Sean's Top 10 Albums of the '00s
(in alphabetical order)
• • •
"Dark Passion Play," Nightwish (2007)
This Finnish metal band fired operatic vocalist Tarja Turunen and hired the London Philharmonic Orchestra, which painted keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen's melodic songs on an epic canvas. The lyrics mostly deal with the emotional fallout from the firing, and the sounds are appropriately dark and romantic. Emppu Vuorinen's guitar holds its own against Holopainen's bigger-than-life orchestrations, and the result is a score for a film in your mind. Download these: "7 Days to the Wolves," "Amaranth," "The Islander"
• • •
"Death Magnetic," Metallica (2008)
The riffs sound like a rebirth, even if the muddy production sometimes sounds like afterbirth. Metallica fuses every stage of their career (save the "S&M" experiment) into a bruising collection of thrashers. A band on the edge of irrelevance crawled from the wreckage one last time. Download these: "All Nightmare Long," "Cyanide," "The End of the Line"
• • •
"Discovery," Daft Punk (2001)
The very definition of ear candy. The band that annoyed the hell out of me with "Around the World" gave us this unholy concoction of beats, samples, vocoders and kick-ass guitars. If you want to get totally lost in an album with nothing but a dark room and a pair of headphones, this is the way to go -- it almost becomes euphoric. Download these: "Aerodynamic," "Harder Better Faster Stronger," "Something About Us"
• • •
"Fallen," Evanescence (2003)
When I first heard this album, it was like someone was making music just for me. It's dark rock with female vocals, an orchestra, and cinematic sweep. This album led me to the European bands that preceded it, but few of those albums are as consistently entertaining as this one. (Credit that American pop sensibility. Oh, and Ben Moody's chops.) Download these: "Haunted," "Hello," "Imaginary"
• • •
"Gladiator," Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard (2000)
This is the best score of the decade because it is the only one that acts as a main character in the film. Lisa Gerrard's wordless intonations beckon Maximus (Russell Crowe) to his wife's side in the afterlife, and Hans Zimmer accompanies them with a score that encapsulates everything that is best about his often-derided body of work. It lost the Oscar to Tan Dun's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," but it will be remembered long after wire-fu goes back to being a curiosity. Download these: "Now We Are Free," "The Battle," "The Might of Rome"
• • •
"Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)," Marilyn Manson (2000)
The provocateur follows the drug-soaked "Mechanical Animals" with this indictment of guns, God and government that retains much of the previous album's melodic sensibilities while re-embracing the darkness of "Antichrist Superstar." Nothing Manson has done since can quite compete with the unholy trinity he completed here. Download these: "Valentine's Day," "The Fight Song," "Coma Black"
• • •
"A Matter of Life and Death," Iron Maiden (2006)
Maiden loved their war epic so much they played it in its entirety on their '06 tour. I think it's their most consistent album since 1985's "Powerslave," and proves once again that these 50-somethings have more skill and power than just about every band half their age. They are unquestionably the best live band I've ever seen, and I last saw them in June 2008. Download these: "Brighter Than a Thousand Suns," "The Longest Day," "These Colours Don't Run"
• • •
"Mitch All Together," Mitch Hedberg (2003)
This is the only comedy album I can listen to over and over and over again, like it's a great pop record. Mitch's delivery here has an almost musical cadence, and his brand of humor -- definitely influenced by Steven Wright and, uh, Mary Jane -- surprises me, even after 30-odd listens. Sometimes I don't know if I'm laughing at the jokes, or at myself for laughing at the jokes. But I know I love it. Download these: The whole goddamn thing
• • •
"Return of Saturn," No Doubt (2000)
Paste magazine recently asked the Twitterverse to name its favorite album of the decade, and I tweeted back with this. A few days on, I'm not sure if that's actually true, but it feels right, mostly because No Doubt encapsulates just about everything I love about music. "Return of Saturn" had its share of hits, but my favorite songs are the ones radio didn't play to death. No, it doesn't quite boast the murderer's row that "Tragic Kingdom" does, but it's still endlessly tasty. Download these: "New," "Artificial Sweetener," "Comfortable Lie"
• • •
"So Jealous," Tegan and Sara (2004)
The sisters Quin give us a heartbreaking album that goes down so smoothly -- it must be the sweetest bitter pill ever. I rarely listen to albums start to finish, but I almost always hear all of this one when I put it in. Download these: "I Know, I Know, I Know," "Walking With a Ghost," "You Wouldn't Like Me"
• • •
Those are my picks. What are yours?
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
AWESOME doesn't begin to describe this.
BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD RETURN! (If for only the briefest of promotional videos. But man, is it sweet.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Playlist
This week's musical offerings:
Every few years, I "rediscover" FNM, and this time I am struck by how awesome their bass player, Bill Gould, is. This song's from "Angel Dust," which must be one of the most underrated albums of my lifetime.
This sister act makes music that tastes like Cherry Coke. (Does that make sense?)
This one-hit wonder was used as a bumper on the Bears broadcast Sunday night, and I was reminded how awesome it is. You might have heard it on the "Boogie Nights" soundtrack.
QT repurposes this bit from "Revolver," a forgotten Italian crime picture, for one of the best scenes in "Inglourious Basterds." Ennio Morricone's still alive, why doesn't QT commission a fresh score from him next time?
This "deep cut" from "Return of Saturn" is one of my favorite No Doubt songs. All things considered, "RoS" might be my favorite mainstream album of the decade.
Every few years, I "rediscover" FNM, and this time I am struck by how awesome their bass player, Bill Gould, is. This song's from "Angel Dust," which must be one of the most underrated albums of my lifetime.
This sister act makes music that tastes like Cherry Coke. (Does that make sense?)
This one-hit wonder was used as a bumper on the Bears broadcast Sunday night, and I was reminded how awesome it is. You might have heard it on the "Boogie Nights" soundtrack.
QT repurposes this bit from "Revolver," a forgotten Italian crime picture, for one of the best scenes in "Inglourious Basterds." Ennio Morricone's still alive, why doesn't QT commission a fresh score from him next time?
This "deep cut" from "Return of Saturn" is one of my favorite No Doubt songs. All things considered, "RoS" might be my favorite mainstream album of the decade.
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